1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of cellular biology and the diagnosis of neoplastic disease. More specifically, the present invention relates to an extracellular serine protease termed Tumor Antigen Derived Gene-15 (TADG-15), which is overexpressed in breast and ovarian carcinomas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Extracellular proteases have been directly associated with tumor growth, shedding of tumor cells and invasion of target organs. Individual classes of proteases are involved in, but not limited to (1) the digestion of stroma surrounding the initial tumor area, (2) the digestion of the cellular adhesion molecules to allow dissociation of tumor cells; and (3) the invasion of the basement membrane for metastatic growth and the activation of both tumor growth factors and angiogenic factors.
The prior art is deficient in the lack of effective means of screening to identify proteases overexpressed in carcinoma. The present invention fulfills this longstanding need and desire in the art.